Tabernacle Choir prepares to perform at renowned Mall of Asia with Filipino press day
Feb 26, 2024, 7:04 PM | Updated: Feb 27, 2024, 8:36 am
PASAY, Phillippines — The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square met the Filipino media in preparation for its main concerts to thousands of people at the Mall of Asia in the Philippines.
The choir has just two more performances in the Philippines, which is the second stop of its “Hope” world tour. The last two performances will feature popular artists and a social media influencer in hopes of attracting a younger crowd.
The Mall of Asia is the largest mall in the Philippines; it includes a 9,000-seat arena where popular artists from across the world travel to perform. Glimpses of signs and advertisements can be found all around the city of Pasay telling the local people that the choir is coming to town.
The choir has already performed two concerts in the Philippines, both of which were smaller and more private gatherings compared to what is coming.
On Monday morning the choir held a press conference for the Filipino media, to showcase the special guest artists who are Filipino. The two concerts will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.
“I’m very excited for the coming two days,” said acclaimed Broadway singer and actress, Lea Salonga, who is featured as the main guest artist.
Salonga is also the singing voice of Disney princesses Jasmine and Mulan. She also performed with the choir in December 2022 for the choir’s Christmas concert. She said it took seconds to decide that she wanted to be a part of the concert when the choir called and asked her to join them.
“I just remember feeling, ‘Oh this is something I will never forget,’” she said.
Other guest artists include Suzi Entrata-Abrera and her husband Paolo Abrera. The husband and wife duo, both TV personalities and news anchors, will act as narrators during the performances.
“It’s such a great honor to be part of this event. Who doesn’t know the Tabernacle Choir? And to receive an invitation from them and actually see them, to feel the energy the choir puts out is just a whole different experience,” Paolo Abrera said.
To bring in the younger generation, the choir also invited popular social media influencer and singer Ysabelle Cuevas, who has millions of followers on her YouTube channel.
“I am incredibly grateful and humbled to be invited to this,” Cuevas told KSL TV’s Dan Rascon, who is in the Philippines covering the choir’s concerts. “I know the choir is already global but reaching the younger audience is so important. We’ve seen how far the gospel can spread from just a click of a button.”
Choir president Michael Leavitt said this is an important step in appealing to all ages.
“The choir needs to be constantly expanding our audiences into new categories. A lot of our offerings have been focused on more mature audiences. We need to find ways of connecting with people who are younger and different musical taste, but have a commonality with us in things they value,” Leavitt said.
“This is the start of something much bigger,” Cuevas said.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Ysabelle Cuevas’ name.
